Breaking Free
by angel of cullen
Summary: After Jack dies, Rose finds herself once again trapped in the world of high society. But is it really too late? THIS IS A JACK LIVES STORY. T for death yes, there is death in here. My first story!
1. Carpathia

Rose shivered. The _Carpathia_ deck was loaded with survivors. She recognized a few people from the party Jack had taken her to aboard the _Titanic_. There was the little girl, Cora, and the two men who had arm wrestled, even the girl Fabrizio had danced with. They were all there, but Jack wasn't.

"Rose!" called a voice, "Rose!" she turned around to face her ex-fiancé, Cal Hockley, "Oh sweetpea! Thank heavens you're alive! Well what are you doing down here with all these…" he looked around, trying to find a word for all of the soaking third class passengers, "…people. Look at you! What a sight! Why if it weren't for those brilliant red locks of yours I hardly should have recognized you!" Rose glanced at him suspiciously. He seemed awfully nice for a man who had just tried to shoot her hours earlier. How had he escaped the doomed ship anyway? She didn't want to go with him, but she couldn't resist. That fire which Jack had loved, it had died out with him. She let Cal take her limp hand and drag her away. She felt like a rag doll, with neither heart nor free will.

He took her to her mother. Who gave her a light embrace and then went on to comment on the beauty of the first-class rooms, and the wealthy society living in them. Mentioning how, "All the best ones went down with the other ship, of course." Rose wanted to scream, "How can you do this mother? Hundreds of people have died and you act as if nothing's happened!" but she didn't. It all seemed worthless now. None of it would bring Jack back.

She found her suite, and lay down on the queen-size bed. It seemed an eternity since she had last slept, and before she knew it, she had drifted off into a world where Jack was still with her.


	2. Shock

**Here is my much awaited 2nd chapter, almost twice as long as the first. thx for the advice ppl! oh, and here's my disclaimer thingy: I don't own Titanic, except in that dream I once had...**

**Also, I'm gonna submit the next chapter really really soon!**

For the next few days, Rose lived life contained inside the four walls of her _Carpathia_ suite, not wishing to face the outside world.

The few times she did come down to breakfast, she was met with cold stares. She wasn't really sure why, until she heard two women

talking at tea time.

"Oh look," said one, "That Dewitt Bukater girl!"

"Isn't she the one who tried to run off with a third-class boy?" asked the other, glancing sideways at Rose

"Yes, I believe so. Well, it's a good thing she didn't succeed. Her family needs that Hockley man right now."

"Why?"

"Rumor has it," she lowered her voice, "The money all ran out when the father died. The girl is the only card left to play."

Upon hearing this, Rose was completely shocked. So now she was just a pawn in a financial scheme? So the fact that she had fallen in

love meant nothing? She didn't leave her room often after that. She just stayed in bed, listening to Ruth lecture her on reputation;

what would people think when the beautiful Rose Dewitt Bukater just disappeared from society? "Honestly darling," she said, "You

have responsibilities. You're getting married, for god's sakes, and you look like you're being sent to prison! If you really feel so

strongly about this, boy, um, what was his name…" she paused, trying to recall the name that was etched into Rose's heart, "…was it

Jack? Well then invite him to the wedding. Just make sure you dress him up quite adequately, otherwise the guests may suspect

things…" She thought to herself, there was a long silence, and then Rose spoke for what seemed like the first time in days,

"Jack is dead, mother." she said softly, more to herself than anyone else, "I'm sorry, what did you say my dear?" asked Ruth,

"Jack is dead!" shouted Rose, "He's gone mother! It's been days since the _Titanic_ and you haven't even had the heart to ask about

him! All you've cared about is society and reputation!" She was standing up by this point, almost in tears, "Shush darling, shhh."

Ruth said gently, drawing the girl towards her, "It's all right, it will all be alright. You know, when your father died, I felt the exact

same way, but we must move on, and you must marry Cal. He adores you Rose, and we need this marriage to happen." She sighed and

dried her damp eyes with a handkerchief, changing back into her normal, sophisticated self, "Well then, look at the time! Why don't

you get something nicer on, and I'll meet you down in the dining room for dinner. Cal will be so excited to see you!" and with that,

she hastened to her room.

Rose strode towards the closet to find a dress. She was rummaging through brand new shiny gowns when one caught her eye. It was

a pale, flowing, pink dress-the one she had been wearing when the ship sunk. It was completely dried out and cleaned now, but it

was the only dress that seemed rightfully hers. She reached for it, and felt a hand grab her wrist. She pushed aside all of the dresses,

and looked up to see her captor. No, it couldn't be, "Jack?" she screamed, right before fainting.


	3. Jack

When Rose came to, Jack was still there, holding her hand. She was lying on her bed, still not quite able to believe what she had just seen. Was it really him? Or was she going crazy? She was honestly more ready to believe the latter. Wait, he was speaking now! The other dreams hadn't spoken.

"Rose!" he said, "You sure faint easily!" he smiled, "Well, I guess that's what you get from being brought up in the lap of luxury."

"Jack!" she screamed, almost knocking him down in a hug, "Oh Jack! What happened? You were dead!"

"Me!" he laughed, "Dead? Yea right Rose, you can't get rid of me that easily!"

"But Jack! I saw it all! A boat came, I tried to wake you, but you were completely frozen!"

"Yea, I was, but I wasn't dead. I felt so paralyzed. Remember what I told you about drowning, you just freeze up. I couldn't speak, couldn't even open my eyes, but I still wasn't dead. Once I was under, I knew that you had survived, and I didn't want you to be trapped again, so tried so hard to open my eyes, and swim towards the _Carpathia_. I was so tired, I just collapsed onboard, and the nurses wouldn't let me out of the infirmary for days. Otherwise, I would have found you sooner." Rose kissed him, "Oh Jack!" she said again.

The dinner bell started to ring, "Jack, do you have anything to eat down there in third class?" she asked.

"Not here." he sighed, "There are too many passengers aboard now, so there're no more portions for third class after second's finished."

"Well why don't you dine with us tonight?"

"Oh yeah! Your fiancée will just love seeing me at the table! Don't forget Rose, even though the _Titanic _is down, the world hasn't changed enough to allow us to be together. You're still engaged, and I still have absolutely no money."

"I know Jack, but you need to eat something. I'll just have you to dinner this one time. Cal would never want to hurt anyone in public anyway, and we won't give him reason to. If we pretend to just be friends, then no one will suspect anything, and Cal won't want to change that."

Jack sighed, god she could be stubborn sometimes. After all, he _was _hungry, "Okay, fine, just this once though. I'm only doing this because I trust you! If anything happens…"

Rose laughed, "Jack, what could happen? We're both survivors!"


	4. Dinner

About twenty minutes later, Rose stood at the door of the _Carpathia_ dining room. She was on the arm of Jack, who was looking extremely sophisticated in Cal's most expensive suit. Rose was wearing the pink dress, even though it wasn't as nice as the others in her closet.

They were greeted with confused looks as they entered the room. When they arrived at their table, Ruth fainted dead away, knocking over a glass of wine which spilled all over Cal, who promptly bent down to help her. Rose put her hand to her mouth, making it seem like she was shocked. She actually had to keep herself from laughing. Jack knelt down at Ruth's other side, tossing a glass of water on her to wake her up. She came to and looked up at Jack incredulously, but didn't say a word. She didn't want rumors to go out saying that a woman of her reputation had gone out of her mind. Instead, she remained calm and let Cal help her up, "Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said quietly, "It must have been one of my dizzy spells. Thank you so much for helping me Caledon!"

"Well actually, Mother" Rose cut in, "It was Jack who splashed the water on your face."

"Jack?" asked Cal, with a look of confusion on his face. It seemed that he hadn't had a chance to view the face of Rose's guest amidst all of the fuss over her mother's fall. He now stared at Jack with a look of pure hatred.

"Oh, of course you all remember Mr. Dawson!" Rose said, glancing nervously at Cal's face, which was almost as red as the wine on his shirt.

For a moment, Cal looked as if he would strangle Jack right on the spot. Thankfully, he had enough self control to mutter the words, "How could I forget?" almost inaudibly. Then, louder, "Please do sit down, Mr. Dawson!" he pulled out the chair next to him. Jack hesitated before sitting down very carefully, as if the chair might explode any second. He tried to look at Rose, but she was seated on the other side of Cal, making any communication impossible. Someone sat down in the chair on Jack's other side. He recognized the voice immediately, "JACK DAWSON!!!!" boomed Margaret Brown excitedly, "Well you're one person I'd never expect to see again!" and without warning, she scooped him up in an enormous hug, causing many of the ladies at the table to make noises of disapproval and disgust, "Well tell me Jack. How'd you make it! I'm sure everyone would love to know of your heroic escape!" Jack really didn't think that everyone would appreciate the details (especially those regarding whom he was with at the time) so he simply replied, "Well it wasn't heroic really, just lucky."

Rose piped up for the first time since sitting down, "Oh, don't be modest Jack! It was amazing really! It turns out that Mr. Dawson here is an amazing swimmer!"

Cal clenched his fists under the table. Rose was getting the image of him chasing her and Jack down the stairs with a pistol again, "Are you alright Darling?" she asked him calmly.

"Yes, of course Sweetpea!" answered Cal, managing a smile, "Why don't we order the chicken tonight?"

Cal was starting to look dangerously angry, just like he had the day after Rose and Jack had gone to the party below decks, so Rose casually suggested that he go upstairs and change before he caught a cold from the wine-stained suit. Once he was gone, she grasped Jack's hand under the table, and ordered herself some lamb. She also politely asked the waiter if he had any beer. He did, thankfully, and brought it over with a bewildered expression on his face, "Rose." said Ruth disapprovingly, "Since when have you been one to drink…" she looked at the beverage as if it were bottled dishwater, "beer?"

"Oh mother," laughed Rose, "It's really not so bad, you should try it sometime." Molly Brown started to laugh heartily, but Ruth didn't look so amused, "Rose, what is this behavior?" she whispered across the table to her daughter. But Rose never had to answer because at that moment, Cal came into the room, still in his old clothing, saying, "Rose, darling, have you seen my new suit? You know, the…" his voice trailed off as he noticed Jack's attire.

"Oh," said Rose, "I thought I saw it somewhere. Why don't you check with the maids?"

"Never mind," said Cal between gritted teeth, "I think I'll just wear this tonight." he settled down again. Rose quickly released Jack's hand; "Speaking of suits Mr. Dawson…" Cal added casually, "That certainly is a nice one you're wearing."

"Oh, yes, isn't it?" said Jack calmly, "Oh look! The food's here! Why don't we dig in?"

The rest of the meal was just as awkward. Ruth eventually went on to boast about the wedding plans while Molly went on and on to Jack about anything and everything possible. Rose sat quietly and ate, only because she was bored to death of Cal's discussion on stocks with some man across the table. Finally, when she could take it no longer, she ripped off a piece of a paper cocktail napkin, and scribbled something down on it, "Jack, could you pass the salt?" she asked politely. Jack passed her the shaker. When she passed it back to him, she handed him the note, mouthing out the words, "_after dinner_" to him. He nodded briskly and got back to talking with Molly.

While Rose and Jack dined, smiling occasionally at one another, they thought that their secret was perfectly safe. Little did they know that someone else had noticed the note, someone who quickly went over to whisper something to a very angry Mr. Hockley.


	5. Freedom

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the months of not posting. I'd like to thank everyone who had something to say about the other chapters, it really helped. Don't be afraid to give constructive criticism, it's the only way I can fix things (although any seriously evil comments will be made fun of in my next note)**

After dinner, Rose waited anxiously in her suite. Finally, the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Jack, right on time, "Jack!" she said, "I think Cal knows we're up to something. He decided not to have a smoke with the men tonight, so he's in his room." She pointed to the door next to hers, "Let's go!"

"Where?" he asked, "Your note said to meet you here."

"I know, but wouldn't it be much more fun to walk around outside?" he agreed, and they headed off towards the elevators, "Promenade, please." Rose said to the operator. He started to work the elevator, but stopped it between floors, "Excuse me," said Jack, "Is there a problem?"

**A/N: Thanks to Nadine Dawson for telling me the name "promenade" See, you get free advertising now!**

The operator turned around so they could see his face, "Yes, I believe there is!" said Caledon Hockley, as he drew out a small black pistol, "Or there will be, once I innocently walk into the elevator to find _you_ standing over _his_ body. You see Rose; everyone will believe me when I tell the tragic story of my insane fiancée. Onboard the _Titanic_, this man just wouldn't stop bothering you. He proclaimed his love, and you yours, but because you pitied him. Then, when the ship went down, you thought you were free at last. Seeing him tonight was too much of a shock, and then he followed you to dinner. You brought him here because it was your last option. Then, you killed him."

Rose's eyes were wide with shock, "Cal! Why can't you just leave us alone? Please, Cal! Please, you'll find someone else rich to marry, why torture us any longer?"

"Because, you stupid girl, I'm in far too deep. How would it look if _my_ bride ran off with a poor boy? Who would take me seriously?" He pointed the pistol towards Jack, "Any last words?"

Jack just stood still. Rose couldn't understand. Why wasn't he moving? She threw herself in front of him. Jack spoke for the first time since Cal had appeared, "Rose, move" his voice was pleading.

"Yes Rose," said Cal impatiently, "stop being heroic and step aside, or will this have to turn into a murder-suicide?"

"No, Cal" said Jack stiffly, "It's me you want. Leave Rose out of this."

"I'm not moving, Jack." said Rose, feet planted firmly on the floor. She clung to his right arm while staying in front of him. Cal moved his finger...

That second seemed to last an hour. Everything seemed to move at once. Jack attempted to shove Rose out of the way, Cal lunged forward, and Rose somehow went hurtling into him, pushing him onto the floor. A shot was fired, but Rose felt nothing. She looked around anxiously. Jack was behind her already, pulling her up onto her feet. He spoke softly, almost in a whisper, "It's over, Rose."

She turned around to look at him. He was unscathed. Maybe the bullet was lying somewhere on the floor. She looked down, and suddenly understood what Jack was saying. She waited for the grief, but it never came. She felt as if a large weight had just been lifted off of her. She was free; really and truly free. She tried to speak, to move, but the shock was too great. She fainted for the second time that day.

**Yes, btw, I know that Rose faints a lot here, but do understand that she's been through a lot in the past day. I'll make her stronger in the next chapter. **

**I'm also trying to show a more "damaged" part of Jack, but I'm having trouble with ideas.**

**Also, this chapter is purposefully very short, next one will be longer.**


	6. Brighter

Hey readers

**Hey readers! Thanks for all of the continued support, and of course, a HUGE (notice huge letters) thanks to Nadine Dawson for answering my question about decks. Disclaimer: I do not own Titanic, geez...I wish.**

Rose watched the people flock into the elevator. She watched the women scream and the men lift the body and carry it away. She felt numb as they pulled her from Jack's arms, barely able to protest. She didn't speak; she just stared blankly into space, not quite sure how to feel. The only sound which she could hear was the gunshot, still ringing loud and clear over all of the voices.

She lay on her bed, half in and half out of consciousness. She wasn't sad, just shocked. Finally, after and hour, she got up. She put on some fresh clothes and headed down to the third-class rooms. On her way out the door, she caught a glimpse of Cal's room, door flung wide open by some unknown person. She looked inside and saw familiar clothing and a stiff portrait of her and Cal, commissioned by his father. Seeing the face on that portrait was what made her fully realize just how much her world had changed. Despite herself, a smile of relief spread across her face. She felt like screaming with joy.

That girl, the bored, trapped, sad girl in the picture; she had perished along with the man next to her. There was no more engagement. No more life as a woman of society. She could do whatever she wanted now. Of course, she already knew what that was. She went rushing down to Jack.

Finding him was hard. There were so many people in third class! She finally spotted him sitting on an empty cot, looking distressed. She walked over to him and put her arm around him, "Jack, what's wrong?"

"I'm so selfish."

_He _was selfish? Had he missed what _Cal_ had to say to him? "What?"

"Don't you see Rose? Cal should be alive right now! You should be happy! I was so stupid to do this! I didn't just ruin your future; I _fought_ to ruin it!" He punched the hard mattress, "Don't you remember? You weren't sure. You resisted, and I begged! God, I begged you to run! Now look where that's brought us! You could have been happy, Rose. You could have had everything. I could have died when I was supposed to!"

Rose released him and stood up, throwing her arms up in the air. Her temper was flaring up, "Happy? Do you seriously think that I would have been happy without you?"

"If we'd never met, if I stayed away from you like I should have." He buried his face in his hands

"Jack! If you'd stayed away, I would be at the bottom of the Atlantic right now."

"It was what you wanted."

"What I wanted before you came along."

"Exactly, I ruined your life, complicated everything."

"So you're saying you would rather see me dead than with you?"

"NO!" he said, "It would have broken my heart to see you jump, that was why I followed you that night. When I saw you by that railing, all I could think was, 'No!' but I would like to see you happy."

She sat back down next to him, taking his hands in hers, and said gently, "but I'll always be happy with you."

He looked at her, "You know it will be hard."

"I don't care."

"Rose, I have absolutely _no_ money, no home, nothing. You aren't used to that. Not to mention that your mother will probably never speak to you again."

"When have I ever wanted my mother's company?" she smiled.

He finally smiled back, realizing that she really wanted this "So, what will we do first when we reach home?"

They both laughed softy and said, "Coney Island!"

They kissed, knowing everything was going to be all right. They spent the entire night down in third class, getting what food they could and sleeping in the next morning, and even down there, where there was virtually no light, the world seemed brighter to Rose.

**THE END!!**

**Yes, I finally ended it. A good thing can't last too long, and I didn't want to mess things up by stretching it out. I figured that everything was done. Yes, there are some loose ends, but you can tie them up yourselves. Make your own fanfics, and make sure to message or review me when you do!**


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